Garden Of Evening Mists By Tan Twan Eng: An Analysis

The lashings, rape, torture, fingers being detached from the body are all the things that a young woman by the name of Young Ling had to endure by the Japanese in a Malaysian internment camp during WWII. Although, no matter how traumatized or how torn somebody is about a certain situation there is always something/someone that can make it better. In this case it was the Japanese gardener named Aritomo who helped sculpt Young Ling into the strong independent person she was at the end of the novel. The book The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng creates a theme of everything thing fades, and everything changes over time no matter what it is or who they are, by using literary elements such as tone to develop and create a complex read . Through the beginning of the book the reader can sense a strong element of hatred toward the Japanese and a heavy case of PTSD by Young Ling. The Author goes in depth on reasoning for the hatred and the effects that it has left her with. “But occasionally the memories still found their way in through a sound I heard, a word somebody uttered, or a smell I caught in the street.” (Eng 5) The author uses tone in order to create a clear picture of what she is feeling and how the events in the internment camp have affected her life as a whole. This quote gives a slight taste of what the traumatic experiences did to Young ling and how it has …show more content…
Everything in this world will change eventually just like Young Ling did. For some it may take a while and for some it may be quick, but all things change and nothing will ever stay the same.Tan Twan Eng incorporates many unique literary elements in order to create a complex theme of everything fades and everything changes over time due to someone/something; and he makes the reader firmly believe in